Lucky
by DizzyDrea
Summary: Yeah, he was lucky. And he wouldn't trade that for anything.


Title: Lucky  
Author: DizzyDrea  
Summary: Yeah, he was lucky. And he wouldn't trade that for anything.  
Rating: K  
Spoilers: Knockdown  
Author's Notes: So, that episode was awesome. The connection between Beckett and Castle was never more real. Which got me to wondering what it might look like a few years down the road. This'll probably be the first, last and only Castle fic I ever write. The muse wouldn't leave me alone until I got it down on paper, though, so here it is. Enjoy.  
Disclaimer: Castle is the property of ABC, ABC Studios, Beacon Productions and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~&O&~

Author's Note 3/11/11: I've updated this story for two reasons. One, because apparently my math skills suck. Thank you to Crimelover11 for pointing that out; the error has been corrected below. And two, because-and you'll all be pleased to hear this-I decided to write another Castle story and, unfortunately, something I'd written into this one didn't work with the new story. So, the problem has been corrected and updated here. Now, go read the other story. *grin*

~&O&~

Rick Castle stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest. He watched the woman behind the desk, as she talked on the phone. He could hardly believe it had been nearly fifteen years since he'd met her.

Back then, he'd just been looking to do a little research. As a writer, he was used to working alone. He never expected to find people he wanted to come to work with every day. But he had, and he'd enjoyed every day they'd been together.

Especially with Kate.

As if on cue, Kate Beckett hung up the phone and looked up. A beautiful smile broke out on her face.

"Castle," she said, surprise in her voice. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Castle shrugged. "The boys called me this morning. Seems they need my help."

"And you just drop everything and come down to the precinct," she said. She got up and walked across the room to stand in front of him. "I thought you had a deadline."

"Look at them," Castle said, turning around to face the bullpen. "Who could resist that?"

They both looked out into the bullpen, seeing Ryan and Esposito standing in front of the board, talking through their latest case. Or arguing, more like. Their voices weren't raised, but their animated gestures shouted even if their voices didn't.

"Admit it," Kate said from behind him, "you miss this."

Castle turned back around. "Me? Miss this?"

The smile he gave her put the lie to his words. In truth, he did miss working with all of them. Kate had been promoted to Captain a while back, and Ryan and Esposito had become the top detectives in the precinct. And Castle had found himself spending less and less time working on cases and more and more time writing.

Kate rolled her eyes. "You miss the chase. You miss the mystery. You miss the boys."

"And don't forget yourself," Castle said, that old familiar gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah, you miss working with me about as much you'd miss a herniated disc," she said, moving back to her desk.

Castle followed her across the room to stand on the other side, watching as she shuffled through some paperwork. "You're not jealous, are you?"

"Me? Jealous of the Banana Brothers?" she shot back.

He gave her a knowing smile, but let it go. "Alexis called this morning," he said, shifting topics suddenly.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she wanted to know if she could come over for dinner this weekend," Castle said, frowning. "She doesn't usually ask. She just comes."

"She's probably bringing a guy home with her," Kate said.

"Ack, don't say that," Castle said, waving his hands.

"Castle, she's almost 30," Kate said. "It's bound to happen, sooner or later."

"Can't I just pretend she's still fifteen?" he whined. Kate gave him a look. "Okay, okay."

She smiled. "You been out to talk to the boys yet?"

"Nah, I thought I'd stop by and see you, first," he said.

"'Cuz it's not like a dead body is going anywhere, right?" she snarked. "C'mon, they're anxious to see you."

"Wait," Castle said, before she'd had a chance to take two steps away from her desk. "Did you tell them to call me?"

Kate smiled again, this one more enigmatic. "Come on, Castle. I'll walk you over."

She moved through the door, Castle right behind her.

"Hey guys," she called out as she approached. "I brought reinforcements."

Ryan and Esposito looked up and saw their Captain, followed by a familiar face. Esposito was the first to react.

"Castle!" he said, holding out a hand. The two men shook, then Ryan moved in and took Castle's hand.

"You slumming today?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, I thought you were supposed to be on a deadline," Esposito said.

"The walls were closing in on me," Castle said melodramatically. "And I hear you two have one hell of a case."

Ryan waved at the board. "Help yourself."

"I'm gonna head back to my office," Kate said. "Let me know if anything breaks."

"Wait," Castle said, reaching for Kate's hand.

"What?" she asked.

Castle smiled, then pulled her to him, kissing her gently. Esposito and Ryan just stood smiling.

"Castle," Kate admonished. "Not in front of the kids."

"What?" Castle asked, mischief dancing in his eyes. "I can't kiss my wife?"

"In the squadroom?" she asked. "In front of everyone?"

"You guys don't mind, do you?" Castle asked, turning to the two detectives.

"Not at all," Esposito said, turning to Ryan. "You mind?"

"Lord knows my wife does it to me all the time," Ryan said, holding his hands up.

"Besides, you left early this morning," Castle said. "I didn't get the chance to wish you a good day."

Kate rolled her eyes, but she felt warm inside. "You boys have fun," she said, then turned to Castle. "I'll see you tonight."

"Love you," Castle said quietly right next to her ear.

Kate smiled, then leaned in to peck his cheek. "Love you, too," she whispered.

Then she turned and walked away. Behind him, Castle heard a whistle. He turned, and saw Ryan and Esposito with identical grins.

"You are one lucky sonofa gun," Esposito said, shaking his head.

"You're telling me," Castle said, smiling. He slapped Esposito on the back of the shoulder. "Show me what you've got."

The three men huddled around the board, throwing theories around, laughing and joking as they worked through the evidence. The thought crossed Castle's mind that he should never have given this up. He glanced back to find Kate standing in her office door, watching them with a smile on her face. He winked at her, and she smiled even bigger, then retreated to her desk.

Ten years ago they'd finally solved her mother's murder. That case had been the turning point in their relationship. He'd helped her close a painful chapter in her life, and she'd helped him—whether she knew it or not—sort out what was really important to him. It had taken them another five years, but they'd finally gotten married. Not that he'd needed to. He couldn't imagine his life without her, and didn't want to try.

Yeah, he was lucky. And he wouldn't trade that for anything.

~Finis


End file.
